Published 11:42 am, Monday, December 10, 2012

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State Rep. Gerry Fox (D-Stamford); Fernando Luis Alvarez, owner of the Fernando Alvarez Gallery in Stamford; State Sen. Carlo Leone (D-Stamford); Sandy Goldstein, president of the Downtown Special Service District; and Bob Goldstein at the FLA Gallery in September. The gallery will celebrate its third anniversary with an exhibition, "3 Year Anniversary: 10 Artists, 10 Parties," which opens with a public reception on Friday, Dec. 14. less

State Rep. Gerry Fox (D-Stamford); Fernando Luis Alvarez, owner of the Fernando Alvarez Gallery in Stamford; State Sen. Carlo Leone (D-Stamford); Sandy Goldstein, president of the Downtown Special Service ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

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The Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery in Stamford will celebrate its third anniversary with an exhibition, "3 Year Anniversary: 10 Artists, 10 Parties," which opens with a public reception on Friday, Dec. 14.

The Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery in Stamford will celebrate its third anniversary with an exhibition, "3 Year Anniversary: 10 Artists, 10 Parties," which opens with a public reception on Friday, Dec. 14.

Fernando Luis Alvarez was ready to sign a lease on a gallery in Chelsea, the epicenter of the contemporary art world. Instead, he took a chance on a long-empty store front not far from home.

Alvarez, who opened his eponymous gallery on 96 Bedford St. in Stamford in 2009, was aware of the risks: the area was beset by vacancies; the art economy was practically nonexistent; the financial crisis had recently hit. Still, amid the blight, the business executive-turned-artist saw an opportunity.

"Every so often, and this is historically proven, there is a gallery that comes in and shakes up a community, that shakes the art world and a movement is born," Alvarez, of Greenwich, said. "We are fortunate enough to have found our path ... I saw it when we decided to come here."

The way Alvarez saw it, his gallery could fill a void in the marketplace in Stamford. But more importantly, he wanted "to build a community" that could vitalize the cultural landscape of the city.

Three years on, artists, collectors, business leaders and nonprofit organizations credit Alvarez with doing just that. His gallery, they said, has helped to usher in an economic boom on Bedford Street and set the stage for an emerging art scene downtown.

In celebration of its third year in Stamford, the Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery will host "3 Year Anniversary: 10 Artists, 10 Parties." The exhibition, which opens with a public reception on Friday, Dec. 14, will feature the work of 10 FLA artists tasked with curating their own spaces and throwing their own parties on the gallery floors.

"It's a very eclectic curatorial project that represents the full spectrum of who the gallery represents," Alvarez said.

Alvarez said he is scrupulous when it comes to choosing the artists he carries, focusing on the strength of their "narrative" and depth of innovation. And, as far as collectors are concerned, he has chosen well, they have flocked to Bedford Street, acquiring nearly 200 pieces from the gallery since it opened.

But, as Alvarez stressed, "We're not just a showcase gallery" centered exclusively on dollar signs. Rather, he prefers to measure his success in "the change in our community we've been able to create."

For one, Alvarez is deeply immersed in the careers of his artists.

"It's not always easy to show contemporary work because a lot of people need to have something to hang their hat on," Walden, one of the first artists who signed with Alvarez, said. "Fernando is supporting a wide range of artists, and he's attracting local and international collectors."

Alvarez's support of artists expands to Sprouting Spaces, an initiative aimed at transforming empty commercial lots into temporary artist studios (Robert Wilson, the father of "The Office" star Rainn Wilson, was the first artist picked for the project). The flagship site of Sprouting Spaces, at 108 Bedford St., has since become the home of Fernando Luis Alvarez Presents ... Paco Camus Private Collection, a branch of his business that features furniture by Spanish designer Paco Camus. Alvarez has since knocked down part of the wall between the two properties to create a contiguous space.

The location has not only made for lucrative business ventures, but for festive opening night exhibition parties, where art students hobnob with wealthy collectors and art lovers sip wine with artists. Alvarez is all about stoking involvement in the arts; he hosts the annual Be(come) A Collector show, a sale of works for less than $1,000, and Kid+Contemporary, a recently-launched program (with the Greenwich-based Brant Foundation) that exposes students to some of the region's most prominent private collections.

"Fernando and his staff seem to be conscientious about their role not only as a local business, but about their place within and responsibilities toward the surrounding arts communities," said Terri C. Smith, creative director of Franklin Street Works, a nonprofit art space in Stamford.

The gallery has been a boon for business as well.

"Culturally, art and theater bring patrons downtown, and when they come downtown," they spend money, Goldstein said, adding that the gallery attracts high-end business to and raises real estate values on the street.

As for the future of the gallery and the art community in downtown Stamford, "It's only the beginning," Alvarez said. "We will always be here. It's only a matter of time before major collectors come here instead of Chelsea."